Today I asked myself a question – How meditation changed my life? It’s mind-blowing how much my mindset and who I am as a person has changed because I decided to embark on the journey of meditation.
Meditation An Unexpected Beginning in Denmark
It started 11 years ago, I lived in Denmark and I found an event happening on Facebook “Mindfulness Meditation Evening”. We went there with my best friends Yoana and Simon. I was 20 years old. Young, full of testosterone, wanting to explore different dimensions of the world and see where it takes me. Already then I was deeply interested in human psychology. I must say it was for the wrong reasons, I wanted to learn how to read humans better to get an advantage in the business and to be more liked by women (which didn’t work that well anyhow).
My First Meditation Class at The Univerity
Funny how vividly I remember this day, that doesn’t happen often. I remember arriving at the meditation place, the class was held in one of the rooms at the university. Their are 57 Best Breathwork Facilitator Training Courses & Certifications we are providing you can easily join. The meditation was led by a young guy with curly hair and glasses. He was very slim and he had a good energy vibe around him. He felt more calm and present.
When he was leading the meditation it was hard for me to concentrate and the thoughts were all over the place. It was just a 20-minute session, but it felt like forever. He guided us through it, I recall not fully liking it, however, at the end, I felt a sense of peace. After the session, I talked with my friends and they were laughing at how hard and silly the class was. I laughed with them. At the same time, I felt like something had changed inside of me and that I needed to explore this path further to see where it took me.
I have always been a curious person who likes to learn and explore different ways of thinking. I like to read and listen to other people speaking. More specifically, I have always been drawn to learn from those who have succeeded in life, not only financially, but what I noticed already at that time is that finances are a byproduct of success. One thing that most of these legends had in common was that most of them meditated every day. I heard more and more how important it is to meditate, how it not only increases peace of mind but allows also me to be more productive, happy, energetic, and healthy.
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Overcoming Discipline Challenges
I downloaded an app called “Headspace” and started doing just 2-5 minutes now and then. I immediately started to feel the benefits. The longer I did it, the more I felt drawn to explore it more. Discipline was my biggest problem. Most of the days, if not all, I did not want to meditate. I rather watch a mindless movie, make food, hang out with friends, or do anything else. A few more months like this passed and I received a notification that Headspace is offering 6 months of membership for just 20 EUR. At the time 20 EUR was a lot to me, but I decided to invest into myself and see where this leads me. With a dedication to meditating 6 days a week, I embarked on the journey of mindfulness.
Adding Meditation to Morning Routine and Daily Habits
I read the book “Power of Habit” and used the knowledge to start meditation as a daily habit. Think of it as brushing my teeth. Whether I like it or not, I still do it. I read that it’s easier to implement a new habit if it’s added to my existing routine. I added it right after having my morning lukewarm glass of lemon water.
I set myself a goal: Meditating 5 minutes a day, 6 days a week.
The hardest part is sitting down. I noticed that when I’m there I want to do it longer than 5 minutes. From various sources of information, I heard that I should be meditating at least 20 minutes a day to truly feel the benefits. That became my goal, I was increasing the length of meditations gradually, and after 3 months I felt a sense of disappointment in the Headspace app – there were no longer meditations than 20 minutes. I recall even writing to their support giving feedback on this (I’m sure that by now they have longer meditations available).
After the 3 months, the Headspace app started feeling repetitive. I started to notice that I prefer meditating in silence because guided meditation where somebody is speaking disturbing my inner peace. I kept using the Headspace app for the remaining months, which felt a bit like a burden, but looking back at it – the meditation patterns were engraved in my subconscious during these months.
I’m not in any way associated with Headspace, I just want to say a deep gratitude to the creators of it as it truly switched my life.
After the 6-month subscription ended I tried various other guided meditations but did not find many that I enjoy so I continued doing mindfulness meditations on my own.
A Week Without Meditation – Unexpected Feelings.
Without using the Headspace app I gave up the meditation shortly after. I was feeling exhausted from doing it every single day. To my surprise, only after not meditating for 1 week I could feel the enormous difference in the way I think, act, and am. I realized that I would never be able not to meditate again. I experienced how it is to be overall ~30% happier in my daily life, I could not go back to where I was before.
How Meditation Changed My Life – The Outcome of 12 Years of Practise
Since then I have been meditating on and off for 12 years now. The longest I have gone without any meditations is a month since then. My longest meditation streak was 2 years, which I broke off this year in May because I realized that I have been using meditation all these years as a temporary patch to run away from deeper problems within me. I was amazed at how subconsciously I have tricked myself into using meditation as a tool to not look deeper within. You can also join our free certification s 72 Best Meditation Teacher Trainings & Certifications are available.
Now I’m meditating again every day in the morning and sometimes also in the evenings. In my morning meditation, I don’t stop meditating until I’m present and the mind has stopped bombarding me with endless questions, future scenarios, and reasons to get up and stop meditating. It takes around 20 minutes for the mind to calm down. Sometimes all it takes is 3 minutes, 60. Each day is different and the more I meditate the more conscious I am of how my sleep, eating, physical activities, work, and relationships are affecting my ability to be present and calm.
Embracing Meditation as a Lifelong Companion
In the beginning, I thought of meditation as a burden, but now I welcome it in my life. I’m grateful to have this tool that can increase my happiness, efficiency, and the way I am with people. I believe that meditation or breathwork should be practiced by everyone. It develops and strengthens our minds, cleanses our bodies, releases stressors, and evolves us into more conscious human beings.
I’m still finding it difficult to silence my mind and living in today’s world with social media and constant distractions it’s difficult. I believe that most people have never experienced true presence and that’s because I didn’t experience it myself until I dedicated myself to the meditation practice. Even with all the practices I do I’m present in just a fraction of the day. However, I notice more my feelings and thoughts and when I notice them – I can change them. My mind does not go on an “autopilot” rage waves and I’m able to make better decisions.
Conclusion
Meditation has changed my life in ways I could not even imagine. It has allowed me to think more clearly, make better decisions, and be a better, more present person. I’m forever grateful to myself for starting this journey of self-exploration and for you taking the time to read and consider meditating more in your life.